


five ways they could have met (and the one time they didn't)

by TheBizarreHairTrio



Category: The Lobby
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, COOL MAKE YOURSELF CRY OKAY, Other, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates, aaaaaaGGGGGGGGGH SOMEONE KILL ME, i'm gonna cry RIVERS, just full on fucking weep on aisle six, let it all out fam just fucking bawl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 09:42:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21177350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBizarreHairTrio/pseuds/TheBizarreHairTrio
Summary: Gerard and Judas as soulmates, in six universes.





	five ways they could have met (and the one time they didn't)

**Author's Note:**

> cool just make yourself cry i guess. GUESS I'LL DIE

1\. 

"Next," the barista called, looking bored out of his wits. Judas snickered to themselves. _And I'm about to make his day worse,_ they thought to themselves, giving the decidedly cute guy a winning smile, before rattling off their order.

"Hi, I'll have a mint chocolate mocha frappuccino with three pumps of chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings on top, thank you!"

The barista immediately lost his bored expression and scowled, leaning forward over the counter, jabbing a finger at their chin. _Oh, he's cuter when he looks mad!_ they mused.

"It's you, you're the one with the ridiculous order!" he snapped, perhaps louder than he should have, as the people inside the coffee shop turned their heads to stare. 

Judas smirked back, opening their mouth to speak, before a strange feeling enveloped their right forearm. They yanked their sleeve up and stared, as the words _'It's you, you're the one with the ridiculous order!'_ disappeared from their skin. They raised their head and smiled sheepishly at the barista. "Ah...? Nice to meet you, mister soulmate?"

2.

In a world full of soulmate pairs, it wasn't unnatural to have mismatched eyes. Gerard's right eye was a glaring, bright orange, his soulmate's eye. It was said when soulmates met eyes, their right eye returned to the color of the left, their natural eye color.

Gerard combed every form of media for orange eyes, with the knowledge that orange was definitely not a common color, particularly not that certain hue. He scrolled past posts of eyes, people seeking their soulmates through images, but never found anything. Not a single person had an orange eye.

He sighed, tucking his phone away and stretching his arms above his head, picking up his bag and exiting the library, making his way down the street to his apartment. He passed by a street magician, performing the classic rabbit in the hat trick, and stopped to watch, ooooh'ing along with the rest of the crowd as the rabbit disappeared. 

"Can I get any volunteers?" the magician called, brandishing an array of cards. Gerard raised his hand, and amazingly, they picked him. He picked a card, showed it to the audience, and handed it back to the magician, who seemed to wink behind their shades. They shuffled the cards, pulling out a single one, and showed it to him.

"Is this your card?" the magician asked. Gerard replied that it was, and the crowd clapped, before dispersing. Gerard helped the magician pack up, and made to leave before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulders.

"You mind doing me a favor?" Gerard turned to face them.

"Depends on the favor." The magician smirked.

"Look me in the eyes?" 

He nodded hesitantly, before they pulled off their sunglasses and blinked an orange left eye and a right eye identical to his own left eye. They both gasped, a pang echoing through their right eye socket, and the magician winked at him with two orange eyes, holding out a hand.

"Hey, I'm Judas. And given the little show just now, I'm pretty sure I'm your soulmate!"

3.

Judas sighed, tossing a can of soda into the air and catching it with a hand, sitting on the rooftop with a scowl. Tomorrow would mark the 1,200 year they'd been eighteen. Sometimes, they cursed the idea of soulmates, before their love for their immortality won over. It was a treat to watch history pass by. In another hundred years or so, they'd officially be the second oldest human in known record, right after Nine. They hummed to themselves, descending the staircase until they reached the ground floor. Gerard's 18th birthday party was tonight, so they better get to the house before he did, or they'd never hear the end of it. They laughed, walking down the street to his house, where the rest of their friends were waiting. 

"So? You feel any different?" asked Pam, staring at Gerard. Everyone's attention was trained on him. Midnight has already passed.

Gerard's eyebrows drew together. "I don't think so? How is it supposed to feel?"

Quin shrugged. "It feels like... You're frozen in time, or something? I can't explain it."

"I don't really feel like that," responded Gerard.

"Hey," piped up Nine, eyes trained on Judas instead of Gerard. "Judas, your hair's grown."

All attention snapped to Judas, and they twirled a strand of hair around a finger with a frown. "You're right. It's like a couple centimeters off."

There was silence after their proclamation, until Gerard spoke. "Is it possible..." he trailed off.

"... That you might be my soulmate?" finished Judas, humming thoughtfully to themselves. "I think it's pretty clear evidence, although maybe a couple months will make it even clearer."

"Congratulations, anyways, guys!" said Noah.

Judas and Gerard met gazes, both giving each other considering smiles.

"I could do worse," declared Gerard, teasingly. Judas smirked.

"Just watch, I'll be an amazing soulmate."

4.

The first time Gerard saw the orange footsteps, he was in the woods, and they trailed up the trunk of a tree and clumped together on the branch of a tree. He followed the tracks for as long as he could, until it grew dark and he had to return home.

The second time, he was actively chasing them, following their trail with a month's worth of supplies, prepared to seek out his soulmate and find them. He followed the footsteps for two weeks, until he found the end of the trail, leading across a beach and into the ocean. He camped there for another six days, yet no one appeared.

The third time, he wasn't looking for them. He was on the battlefield, blood soaking the ground, from the invaders and the villagers both. Orange footsteps were everywhere, and he feared that his soulmate was an invader, and he had already been slain, blood mingling with the rest. He felt the fastenings of his armor being yanked, and prepared himself for death, as his feet left the ground and he was being carried through the skies. He glanced up at his captor, a dark clothed figure with equally dark wings. 

"Where are you taking me?" he yelled, trying to be heard over the whistling of the wind.

"Somewhere safe!" the winged figure snapped. "I've been following your footsteps forever! Why can't you stay in one place!"

Gerard was stunned into silence. "You... You're my soulmate?"

"Those golden footsteps are yours, aren't they?"

5\. 

Judas had lived their entire life in shades of grey. Often times, color had been described to them unsuccessfully, leaving them with more questions than answers. They preferred to meet their soulmate and see the colors for themselves.

They drummed their fingers against their thigh, sitting at the bus stop, fiddling on their phone. The bus pulled in and they boarded, scanning their card and walking through the aisles, careful with their balance. There was only a single seat open, and they met eyes with the boy sitting in the seat over, and whistled as color bloomed before their eyes. They saw the red of their sweater, the green of the boy's shirt, and smiled, sitting down and offering their hand to him.

"I'm Judas, nice to meet you."

6\. 

His timer read 1.11.53.1009. 

By his calculations, Gerard should be meeting his soulmate during his first Chemistry class tomorrow. He smiled to himself, wondering what his soulmate would be like as he drifted off to sleep.

The timer continued to countdown ever so slowly, before it stopped, a crack forming in the glass. The numbers faded, and the empty timer clattered to the floor.

Gerard woke up next morning to a bare wrist and an aching sense of grief in his chest.


End file.
